Second War of Reunification
The Second War of Reunification was the process of unifying the various political units into what became known as Ghadrash. Beginning of the war The first steps of the unification came as the Praetor of Port Liberty, Sergei Petrovich, married a younger daughter of the king of Magaran. The Praetor was the head of the small but influential Coastal Alliance (Tengerparti Szövetség). A plague broke out in the Kingdom of Magaran in 1477, killing off the king and his sons. The marital alliance was meant to be a minor one, but Petrovich used this opportunity to lay claim to the throne of Magaran. The claim, while having little merit, was accepted by a number of the nobles in Magaran as civil war was otherwise assured. In response, Petrovich announced the United Kingdom of Magaran and the Coastal Alliance. The declaration proved troublesome, as his position as praetor was an elected one. The ruling council, as a result, dissolved the alliance in response to Petrovich's autocratic tendencies. Petrovich, using his newfound support in Magaran, quickly brought the alliance cities into his fold by force. Petrovich soon expanded his territory to include previously unaligned cities up to the boarders of the kingdoms of Eletram and Ghadran. Expansion and Capturing the Kingdom of Electram The other powers in Ghadrash soon took notice Petrovich's expansionism. Petrovich, by this time, had become extremely paranoid and had retreated to his castle in the mountains regions of Magaram. His paranoia proved justified, as in 1481, Sergei was assassinated. A Magaram noble and son-in-law to the former King of Magaram, Josef Szapolyai, claimed the throne and took up the cause of reunification. While Josef fought in the west, his brother Géza, led the armies in the east. Géza soon sent envoys to the Kingdom of Giranda to propose peace. The new king realized that he could not take on multiple enemies at once, and instructed his brother to find a way to safely expand. The two kingdoms settled on a non-aggression pact. Giranda had a long history of boarder disputes with Electram, and agreed to leave the Kingdom of Magaram and Coastal Alliance alone as long as they were given control of their disputed territory. These terms were happily agreed upon, and in 1484, Giranda began their military campaign. Géza soon led his army into the south of Electram and met little resistance as most forces were already engaged in the north. Meanwhile, in the west, Josef continued absorbing unaligned territory into his own. His conquest gave Magaram its first coastal territory in generations. These conquests greatly expanded Josef's control over his territory, as communication between the two separated territories became far easier. By this time, the kingdom had become the largest and most powerful kingdom in the region. Josef redeclared the kingdom the Kingdom of Ghadrash, clearly stating his intent to reunify the whole region under his banner. The expansionist policies caused different reactions from different kingdoms. The Kingdom of Giranda took little notice of the expansion as it signed a non-aggression pact with Ghadrash and was strongly supported by the kingdom of Eder Gira. The Kingdom of Ghadran quickly allied with Ghadrash and would aid them in their campaigns throughout the reunification wars. The kingdoms of Simor and Frendas, however, saw the expansionist policies of Ghadrash as major threats to their kingdoms. The two kingdoms began their own expansionist programs in an effort to gain more power in order to confront Ghadrash. The two kingdoms divided the smaller Amaera, much as Giranda and Ghadrash had divided Electram, and began to expand west. The Kingdom of Simor's expansion was done with the most haste, as it feared being enveloped by Ghadrash. The Kingdom of Frendas had long been at peace, however, and its army were not nearly as prepared as Simor's. Its conquest of Amaera took nearly twice as long as their ally's. The kingdom faired better against the unorganized territories to its east, but it was not the brilliant campaign promised by its king. This led to the dissolving of the alliance by the Kingdom of Simor Coastal Campaign Frendas slow conquering of Amaera and its trouble expanding east indicated its military weakness compared to the Kingdom of Simor. It was clear that the Kingdom of Simor would have to stand alone against Ghadrash, and drastic action had to be taken. The king of Simor, King Alfonso de Montana, launched what he called the Coastal Campaign. De Montana knew that the only thing slowing Ghadrash's expansion thus far as its inability to unite its two halves. This campaign would lead to the first direct conflict between the two kingdoms. In 1489, de Montana launched an attack on Ghadrash's western kingdom with the goal of distracting the kingdom as de Montana sent his main force westward in the hopes of conquering enough territory to achieve his aims. De Montana's ploy failed miserably, as his diversionary force was defeated quickly. His eastern campaign seemed likely to fail just as quickly when a rebellion broke out in Ghadrash's eastern territories. Nobles in the east saw this as an opportunity to seize power, and the next 10 years were spent quelling various rebellions in the east. Battle of Egarlan Plains Josef Szapolya, obsessed with unifying his two territories, led his army north in 1793 to confront the army of de Montana. The two armies met in the Battle of Egarlan Plains. While Szapolya had the better trained army and was a better leader, de Montana's army was nearly three times the size of Szapolya's. Despite the numerical advantage, de Montana's army was overpowered and was on the brink of defeat when a stray arrow struck Szapolya. The chaos that followed allowed for de Montana to launch a counter-attack and routed the remaining Ghadrashan forces. This distraction greatly weakened the Kingdom of Ghadrash's unification goals. While the western half remained stable, the eastern side was emboldened by a weak response and the death of Josef Szapolya in battle. De Montana's successful Coastal Campaign made it impossible for the two halves to unite, and greatly slowed reinforcements.